Sizing up Giants' issues as spring training begins

Updated 6:21 pm, Saturday, February 15, 2014

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

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Madison Bumgarner, right, and Bobby Evans, center, listen as Giants Manager Bruce Bochy answers questions from the press after the San Francisco Giants announced a 5-year contract extension for the pitcher at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 16, 2012. less

Madison Bumgarner, right, and Bobby Evans, center, listen as Giants Manager Bruce Bochy answers questions from the press after the San Francisco Giants announced a 5-year contract extension for the pitcher at ... more

Murphy: So let's talk about (Tim) Lincecum for a moment - actions speak louder than words, and you guys told us what you thought of him with the contract you gave him. Are we going to see Timmy be a totally different guy from day one? He's not going to worry about the radar gun or topping out at 91 or 92? Are we looking at Lincecum 2.0?

Evans: I think you're going to definitely see a different Timmy - who knows what ultimately will be the result? But this guy put in one of his best winters getting ready for the spring. It's an adjustment that every player has to make, when you come out of college and you have success. Even in Matt Cain's case - he came out of high school, had success, and his offseason regimen has had to change as he's grown as a pitcher, and he's gotten older. He's had to figure out his body. I think, really, that's some of what Tim went through this winter.

McCaffrey: A lot of the national buzz for the NL West right now is about all the other teams - lots of Dodger buzz, and Arizona, too. Does that have any bearing on the mind-set of this team, collectively?

Evans: It's a long race and it's a long run, so the Dodgers and D'backs can have all the attention they want right now. At the end of the day, the club's mind-set is to get their business done, and maybe to a certain extent they are going to have something to prove and it will inspire them.

Murphy: There are two big-name pitchers out there - neither Ubaldo Jimenez nor Ervin Santana has signed yet. Are you guys tempted at all to make an extra pickup?

Evans: There may be some nonroster, late signings that come in ... and maybe not. It really depends on how the market develops for these guys. It is hard to see us carrying a legit sixth starter on our roster. We've got the first five, and we're going to go with those guys, and we'll see if there's a need at any point to use guys that are kind of in the wings, if you will, including (Yusmeiro) Petit. ... As long as our guys stay healthy, we'd like to go with the guys we have.

Murphy: People talk about Heath Hembree and Derek Law. Are you guys giving these guys a chance to make the big-league roster?

Evans: Oh yeah, without a doubt. We'll have to give them every consideration. Derek Law is not on the roster yet, but he was so impressive this fall that we've got to at least give him consideration and let him pitch and show the staff what he's capable of. I think that Heath Hembree showed that he's ready to contribute. In what role, I guess that will be determined, but I think he's got a better-than-odds chance of making the team.

Murphy: With the pitching depth, is (Ryan Vogelsong) looking over his shoulder a bit, like he has to prove to you guys that he's the No. 5 guy with Petit behind him?

Evans: Well, for me I never want to put anything in stone in spring training. I think that's part of the beauty of spring training, is you allow guys to come in and show what they've got. With the struggles that Vogelsong had last year, I think that we need to see very early on that those are behind him, and I'm confident that Vogey will come in and make a good case for himself. He was signed with the expectation that he would take that job. That's why Vogey was signed, not because we wanted to bring him in to compete.

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